A 3-day weekend of fun.....

On Saturday, the kids are at school. The wife has her PIBG AGM. So, only Apit and me at home.....nothing do tho'....just spent the morning in front of the PS2. Apit spent it in front of the TV....thanks to Astro Ceria. That night, I watched MU romped over Aston Villa....thanks to one goal each from Carlos Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo, and a brace from Wayne Rooney.

On Sunday, we left home at about 6am. The kids had registered for the Astro Ceria's Run-For-Fun.....arrive just before 630am....after some commotion....(it seemed the organizer didn't do their homework......), off they go for what seemed like a very very short run. I spent the best part of that morning, looking for the kids amongst hundreds of other kids.....(once again, the organizer failed at this).....I found Lina first....and Ain almost half-an-hour later, after some AstroCeria staff called me....(luckily we wrote my hp number on their bibs).

We went to the Masjid Shah Alam to take our shower and went back to the Shah Alam Stadium, just when the AstroCeria celebs got into their bus.

We went home totally exhausted......

Monday is a day off for Sony.....and wife took a leave...we went to the Immigrations. My wife had her passport made today.....No hassle at all at the counters........after submitting the form, we went straight to KL......I need to buy an external hard-disk and my wife needed to have her hp serviced......At the end of our KL trip....we came home with an external HD, a head set for net calls, a Nokia CA-53 cable and a brand new key pad for my wife Nokia 6111. We had lunch at Naab Iranian Restaurant....just something that I had promised my wife....to treat her with what I ate during my stay in Tehran.....the price? RM90.28 for two ..... I had chicken koobide kebab and sekanjiben juice. My wife had chicken with barberry rice and naab tropica juice. We also ordered a plain yogurt.

We headed back to Immigration...picked up the passport and fetched the kids at school......

This weekend was surely an eventful one....tired but satisfied.....

Already in Dubai....Virtually

Finally, I have something to write about.......

Thanks to Mr Syed Mohd Hasrin from the Consulate General Office in Dubai, I'm now a member of malaysia-uae@yahoogroups.com. Already, my yahoomail is flooded by a lot of emails from my future brothers and sisters in Dubai. I asked them a lot of questions about almost everything under the sun....in Dubai. From accomodation to utility cost to....everything...and I think I'm still not half done. I already have a few telephone numbers of the Malaysians in Dubai.....One even offered to help me find an accomodation in Dubai (TQ bro Musa, a real estate company owner)

My first impression? I think my family and I will be OK in Dubai.....we will have lots of friends there....just like when I was in the US......

Actually, that's what majority of Malaysians do when they are abroad.....they look after each other.....Gone are the racial and religious differences.....the only things left is the notion that we are Malaysians, in a foreign country, and we have to look after one another. I guess we are much better in a foreign land than in our own country......

It makes me feel a little bit easy.....and I hope I can persuade my family to feel the same too....this will be their first time living abroad.....especially for my 2 daughters....they'll have to leave the comfort of schooling in Malaysia....and enter a very different schooling environment in Dubai. That's why I hope to enroll them in a school where most Malaysian send their kids. At least they won't be alone during their first few days or weeks.

Khoda Hafez!!!

Today, I bid "Khoda-hafez" to my friends in Iran....."Good-bye"......We started the day with an 830am Seihan Mtg with the sales people....which includes my boss Tanikawa and Sony Iran's boss Arai.....Luckily, the TV section of the meeting started early.....people have been telling us that the meeting could drag on until midnite....No S**T.....

After lunch, we went to Shahab to finish some unfinished business......530pm....off we go to the airport...checked in, stamped out the visa and had dinner at The Coffee Bean cafe in Imam Khomeini Airport.

The Tehran-Dubai flight was almost 1 hr late....Arrived in Dubai at 1am local time....I lost my forks and a butter knife, as well as my small scissors and the Emirates fork-spoon I took from the plane (souvenir!!). The Customs took them without any remorse.....Hey!!! My mother bought the forks in Mekkah when performing her Haj in 2005.....

The flight to KLIA, luckily, was not delayed.....we arrived in KLIA on time......waited what seemed like forever for our baggages. Then, through the customs and to the waiting arms of our family.....What a relief to finally see the faces of my wife, kids, parents, my sister and my nieces.

And it was even a greater feeling seeing my Avanza.....It's been one month since I last drove a car.....and it felt so good being behind the wheel again.

That night.....souvenir time.....well only chocolates and some pistachios for my family and friends...but I'll be in Iran again next month....maybe I could find something else for them the next time around.

It's so good to be home again.......

People Power

I call it the People Power.....I just couldn't think of a proper phrase....Now this is what democracy is all about.....If the govt didn't perform....CHANGE!!!!!

Now, Perak, Kedah, Penang and my adopted state Selangor will get a brand new Skipper at the helms....Ir Nazim (Perak), Ustaz Azizan (Kedah), the younger Mr Lim (Penang) and Tan Sri Khalid (Selangor)....Along with the Tuan Guru (Kelantan), we got the leaders from all the important areas....an Engineer, a religious teacher (make that two), a lawyer and an economist....Welcome to the new Malaysia.

The shallow-mindeds might say...it's just 5 states....BN still controls the Feds. What? with less than 2/3 majority? It, obviously, will be hard for the Federal Govt to make any decisions as the 79-strong Opposition members will do everything that they can to ensure that the decisions are not one-sided. They'll be led by DS Wan Azizah....I reckon, as PKR won the most seats for the Oppositions. With DSAI supporting her from the flanks....I think she will be a strong Opposition leader. Hey...she will also be joined by the daughter....YB Nurul Izzah (does have a nice ring to it).

Now at least, when it comes to the PM meeting with the MBs and CMs.....the Tuan Guru will not be left alone.....or this time around the PM will have to invite the four opposition MBs and one CMs.....BIG mistake if he won't.

The BN should have seen it coming......with all the racial outrage.....economic problems.....social problems....increase in crime rates....cronysm.....increase in prices of almost everything......broken promises......I can go on with list but I think I have made my point.

The PM...hehehehe....he will spend countless nights picking his Cabinet list.....he lost Samy, Shahrizat, Aziz Shamsuddin, Koh Tsu Koon, Awang Adek, Zainal Abidin Zin, Palineval, Sothia......to name a few.....Hmmm...I wonder if he will make his beloved SIL a minister....let's say maybe as a Youth and Sport Minister....but where will he put Azalina? OK....let him bare all the troubles.....

The great thing is that when I set my feet back on Malaysian soil......my MB will be somebody I prefer.....and the govt, I support....and I hope the 1st thing they'll do is to do away with the Cukai Pintu.....I have been paying almost RM300/year.....but there's nothing to be proud about....the MPS have done nothing to make paying that sum of money worth me while.

I had a conversation with my Iranian friends.....their so-called election will be next week (on the 14th).....but they said majority will not vote....as a sign of protest. Their's is not like our election.....the candidates have been decided by the Council of Religious Leaders, headed by the Ayatollah (currently Ali Khameini).....They can take in or reject any candidates as they wish.....My friend called it second-hand votes.....and they said, there's no point voting....Even if the candidates win, but suddenly the Council decides that they don't like him, he's off. The same thing happens with the Presidential election.

Hearing that, I was relieved.....I think to myself, how good it is to be a Malaysian....we can decide who to be our leaders every 4-5 years....we have the powers....unlike the Iranians.....I pity them actually.....We, Malaysians have every rights to decide our future....but not them.....they have to contend with what they have right now.....

And Malaysians have done wonderfully.....keep it up.....we want only the good YBs repesenting us...the "Yang Berkhidmat"s not "Yang Berhormat"s.

Well I guess Allah has granted us our prayers.....and what we should do now is be grateful to Allah.....and stand together......

We are not Malays, Chinese or Indians.....we are Malaysians.....set aside our differences and together...we rebuild the nation....Don't worry.....they don't have the 2/3 anymore.....hehehehe......And for those new MBs and CM....don't worry if you don't have the experience....we have that "Otai" in Kelantan who will be absolutely happy to help you.

Last but not least....Thank you to all Malaysians, from the bottom of my heart.....

Salam Takbir from Tehran, Iran.

P/s....The BA almost wrestled Trengganu and Negeri Sembilan......almost....!!!!

Use your rights, people....use it wisely...

The GE is here...Malaysians will cast their votes to elect the Government for the next 4-5 yrs. It has been more than 50 years that we have the current govt ruling the nation.....My question is....Don't Malaysians think it's time to change?

Development-wise....yeah, we should thank the current govt for it....but, think about it....Doesn't that the responsibilities of a govt elected by the people? It's time we change our paradigm...shift it....and take a look at the other side of everything....

The development that we have right now came not without any side effects. Take a look at our youngsters....they are more "westernized", ruder, more "exposed" (physically, I mean...they way the dress....). Then, with the development....in came a lot of avenues for certain parties to fill up the pocket....to get richer....

FYI...there are still poor people.....esp in states governed by the ruling party.....
I am not trying to be "anti-govt" or "anti-establishment".... I just want people who are elected, and know their resposibilities to the people that have elected them..... Most importantly....the should know about their responsibilities to ALLAH....they WILL be asked about them in the HEREAFTER..... that has been promised by ALLAH in the HOLY QURAN. And don't forget about the people who cast their votes for these irresponsible elected officials....They will also be asked on how did they use their rights to vote.

In the modern days....of course, there are no more leaders in the molds of the Khulafa' Ar-Rasyidin....or Umar Abdul Aziz, or Harun Al-Rashid, or Salahuddin Al-Ayubi.....but we have the choice....Do we want the people we are just thinking about what's inside their bank accounts or do we want those who will serve us and the nation?

So, come 8th of March, I hope Malaysian people will use the rights to do some changes.....Change is important.....I think Malaysia have one record that can be inducted into the Guiness Book......."The longest ever elected Govt to rule a Democratic Islamic Country"....Well....
I don't want to go deeper into politics....or in that case religious matters.....I want to let the people decide.....I hope what Abe Lincoln said about..."the Govt from the people, by the people, for the people"....will prevail in Malaysia....after the vote counts stop.

Happy voting....

With Lots of Prayers from Tehran, Iran....

Beautiful days.....

It has been a few days of beautiful sunshine here in Tehran.....with an occasional breeze. I have been down to only a short-sleeved t-shirt and a jacket. Spring is just around the corner. They say that spring is the most beautiful season in Tehran...we'll find out soon enough. The garderners in Shahab are busy fertilizing the plants, watering them.....I guess when I come back in April, things will be a beautiful as they say it will be.

"Mohandes" (Engineer in Farsi) is the name they call people who take care of the engineering. Mr Tajgardoun (Engineering Manager) is perhaps the most popular and busiest of them. Me...? maybe I haven't earned the title yet in Shahab as they are still calling me Mister Haza or just Mister. Maybe the title is for the elite engineers, just like Tajgardoun. He is busier than Mr Laky the Plant Manager and majority of them look up to him. An ethnic Turk (and he speaks Turkish too), he has a lot of knowledge about everything, it seems. He is very proud of his origin and his hometown near the border of Iran and Azerbaijan. He will be my "main Man" here in Shahab. In fact we are based in his office just adjacent to the production line.

Many people will ask me how do I get along in Iran, especially in Shahab. I mean, how does a Sunni Muslim get along in a place where the Shiahs are the majority. No problem.....for me, as long as, we are worshipping the same true GOD, we are brothers. And brothers take care of each other. Maybe their solat is a little different from us, may be they prostrate (sujud) on a piece of hardened clay from Karbala' (so that their foreheads don't touch the place of sujud)....may be they "jamak" their solat (Dzuhur and 'Asar, Maghrib and Isya')......but as long as they say the "Kalimah"....I will consider them as my brothers.

They treat me well here.....in my opinion, they just know that I am a Muslim....and only that counts.....nothing else does. And they know that I am of a "different" sect (a Sunni) by the way I pray....but so far nobody has asked me any questions about it.

The most important thing is that we are the servants of ALLAH....and are enjoying the weather that has been blessed by The Almighty here in Tehran......nobody can take that away from us....

Works cut out.......

Emails are pouring in into the Gmail I set up for my outstation correspondence.....

One bad thing about Webmails is that it follows you wherever you go.....well, unless the place doesn't have any internet services (which is quite illogical in today's world).

But at least I know that I am an important person....hehehe....

Well....I have all the motivations I need to do well.....besides my family of course.....

Maybe after this they'll request me to CC to Sir Howard and Dr Chubachi .....That my friends....would surely make my day.....